A north Indian guy falls in love with a south Indian girl and wants to marry her. And then there are the usual problems with the families, cultures etc. etc. This story has been dished out to us so many times in movies, hindi serials and practical life too. Yet, why is this book any different?
Because Chetan Bhagat has written it... :) I do not like this book for its story line but I totally absolutely love it for the way Chetan tells the story. He describes an India we live in, an India you and I see everyday. All of us have been to the kind of hangout places he describes. Most of us have been on one of those dates that he describes. All those small steps in being in love...from the frustration of being just friends with a girl/boy to realizing that they are such an integral part of your life, that you never want to let them go and would do anything to hold on. I am sure everyone who has ever been in love can identify with them.
This love story is not just about the boy and the girl. Yes, I know you must be expecting me to say its about loving your parents too. But I am not really that predictable. Before I talk about the parents, I would like to say it is about an average Indian youth. The frustrations of living uptown our parents expectations, of coming from a dysfunctional family, being a victim of domestic violence and all those things that everyone knows happen but no one wants to talk about. Chetan talks about all of them. From the pre-maritial sex to the PDAs (public displays of affection), the frustration of being caught up in a corporate jobs that pays a lot of money but no job satisfaction and tramples upon your self-respect and conscience all the time, striving to make all those who love you love the one person you love...I havent seen a better sketch of emotional turmoil of a young metro-living Indian.
No, I haven't forgotten about the parents and the intercultural aspect of it all. My heart goes out to Krish and Ananya when they are trying to make their families get along. The potrayal Punjabi perspective on marriage (how many cars/petrol pumps will the boy get, how lavish is the wedding, how much was spent on the venue, the food and all the pomp and show..how milky white is the bride, no matter how stupid she is, the boys side should have the upper hand all the time and the girl's side only motive should be appeasing the boy's side) and the Madrasi..oops the Tamilian perspective on marriage (the guy should be from IIT, IIM preferrably with a PhD from MIT and settled in the US, the girl should be educated and 'pure' ) is amazing. The huge differences in the two cultures has been brought out so well. And a kudos to the effort of bringing together the two cultures. All of us who have ever been in an intercultural relationship realize how hard it is to do that. And in the process of telling his own love story Chetan has taken so many digs at the two cultures...be it the something something illa illa of the tamilians to the over the top love of food of the Punjabis..His ability to find humor in everyday situations makes the reader smile from ear to ear.
I think I have already written a lot. To conclude it all, I will say I love this book and its writer because he writes about everything we do, we see, we hear, we think but can't articulate. If you are still not convinced you need to read this book...you are a case beyond repair ;)
